Who’s Your Buddy?

Riding with a friend, or many friends is a gas when everyone is on the same page. We create friendships and bonds with strangers on rides and we meet up with old friends we haven’t seen in a while. Most of us have a favorite group of friends we like to ride with. Some of us consider ourselves a lone wolf, but we still end up in parades and funerals and fundraisers where other Riders are present, so everyone at one time or another will be riding with other bikes.
Having a Buddy to ride with is a valuable asset as long you can count on each other in case of a problem or accident. In 50 years of riding motorcycles I can attest to how great it is to have someone stop and help when your scooter quits running in the middle of nowhere. I know how cool it is to be broke down on the road and when I needed that certain wrench a Buddy says, “Hey, I got one”. Of course, I don’t have to mention how comforting it is to have a friend leaning over you saying, “It’s gonna be alright, helps coming” should an accident happen.
On the brighter side of riding with Buddies we have friends to share the majestic beauty of our earth with. A riding story isn’t an adventure without a Buddy that was there backing you up with a couple of chuckles. Riding with a friend is a way to learn if you are a new guy, and it’s a way to teach if you are an old guy. The unspoken rules of the road are often handed down to Riders through the actions of others. Hopefully the Buddies you ride with care about the Grasshoppers of this world and ride like someone is watching.
So if you ride with a group, or not, you can still be that guy (or gal) that stops to check on a broke down scooter, you can still be the guy that uses the correct signals, and you can be the friend you would like to have by setting an example. When another rider passes the other way on the road drop those two fingers down toward the pavement to let them know they have a Buddy they can count on. When you see a scooter on the side of the road, or when one of your friends falls back and to the side, stop to check on the rider and bike even if you have no tools, even if you have no phone, you still have you and a running bike, and occasionally we all need a Buddy.
John ‘Hammer’ Hanzlik
ALR Road Captain
Post 1 Omaha, Neb.